RETURNING TO TEL AVIV DANGER WON'T HALT TRIPS TO TROUBLED AREA.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

The University of California and other colleges recalled students from Israel this week, but medical student Melissa Kahn of Calabasas has started packing her bags for a Saturday flight back to the violence-plagued country.

Kahn has only six weeks of classes remaining at the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, and the school will not allow her to complete her studies in the United States.

Kahn said she is terrified of the deteriorating situation in Israel, particularly as she will have to leave behind her husband and 2-year-old daughter.

``It's never, never been this scary before, and I have great concern for my daughter and husband if something happens to me,'' said Kahn, 28, who returned to Calabasas for the Passover holiday. ``It's a pretty tough choice, but the school isn't giving me an option.''

Kahn said her only other choice would have been to take a yearlong leave of absence, and she has no way of knowing if the situation in the Middle East will improve by then.

``It's really dangerous there right now, and I think the school should have more compassion and understanding for its students,'' she said. ``I'm really stuck in a bind.''

Across the United States, universities and colleges have begun recalling students from Israel while others are closely watching the violence in the West Bank.

Two students from the California State University system, including one student from the Northridge campus, remain at the University of Haifa north of Tel Aviv.

However, university officials say they are monitoring the situation daily and could recall the students at any time.

``We've asked students to restrict their travel and avoid public transportation, and each one has a cell phone at all times,'' said Leo Van Cleve, CSU director of international programs. ``In spite of that, we're continuing to review the situation and it could change at any time.''

Twenty-five students from The Master's College in Valencia who are studying in Israel may also be asked to come home in the wake of a travel warning issued this week by the U.S. State Department.

Kahn wants to stay in the United States, requesting permission to finish her last six weeks of study at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Although Cedars OK'd the plan, Sackler said it would violate school policy.

The New York office of the Sackler School of Medicine was closed Thursday for Passover, and officials could not be reached for comment.

Kahn said the school has arranged taxi transportation for her so she does not have to walk or use public transportation from her Tel Aviv apartment to the university and hospital where she has been studying the last four years.

For Kahn's husband, however, the measure provides little comfort.

``We were concerned when they handed out gas masks a few years ago, but this is a whole new level of worry,'' said Daniel Kahn, 29. ``It's never been a case where they're calling up the reserves and civilians are killed in the street. It would just be a humongous disaster if anything happened to her. Her daughter would only know who she was through videotapes.''

When Kahn returns to Israel, she will not be alone. Some Southland residents are preparing to travel to Israel next week for volunteer service.

``What you see on TV doesn't reflect what's going on all over the country,'' said Ruth Rennie, 68, of Hemet, who is leaving this weekend for a three-week stay in Israel with Volunteers for Israel. ``This is my 18th trip to Israel, and I've never yet gone over there without some unrest.''

The nationwide volunteer program places volunteers at Israeli military bases, where they do everything from gardening to cleaning Uzis, said Louis Goldwitz, the Southern California representative for the group.

Enrollment in the volunteer program has diminished with the escalating violence, but Goldwitz said the organization's leaders feel it is important to continue the volunteer work as a show of support for Israel.

The B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, which sends young people ages 14 to 18 to Israel from Los Angeles and other cities, also reported decreased enrollment for its planned 10-day trip to Israel next month. However, the program director for the organization said there are no plans to cancel the trip.

``We are a strong advocate of Israel, and feel that at this point we need to show them that when things are tough, we are not going to turn our back on the country,'' said Micky Zoldan, program director for the organization, adding that the children are accompanied by an armed paramedic trained by the Israeli army.

Officials from Birthright Israel - which has provided free, 10-day trips to Israel for some 27,000 Jews worldwide in the last two years - say they also are moving forward with plans for spring and summer trips to the country.

``Our bold vision was to make educational trips to Israel available to every Jewish adult, and we still want to provide that gift,'' said Joe Wagner, a spokesman for the organization.

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(color) Medical student Melissa Kahn of Calabasas, a 28-year-old mother of a 2-year-old girl, must return to Israel Saturday to finish her studies at the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv or quit school for a year.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer